Our category:
The Mountain of Fire:
Build something depicting Frodo and Sam on or in Mount Doom.

Now this scene takes place on the Mountain of Fire (also known as Mount Doom) and Sam is carrying Frodo up to the doors into The Mountain. Along the way, they meet Slinker Stinker (generally known as Gollum).

This was a real challenge for me. I have a lot of grey, but I didn't realize how big this would be. My original plan had been to build everything. The rocks on the right AND on the left. Then, I planned on building a miniature version of the doors with the rest of the mountain. It was a crazy idea, and I failed. So I decided to build the biggest boulder along with a bunch of stairs, as well as a couple smaller rocks. And it worked. :D

Okay. So I feel like an idiot for building something so big. As I said above, I had no idea it would become such a big project. :P But hey! If you want to beat Graeme, you might wanna try something big.

Oh. And please remember. The background is BLACK! Not purple... It is black, it's just that the lighting made it look purple in some pictures. Please ignore it (But, now that I've told you, you won't).

Anyway, enjoy!

No 'figs. I'm really proud of the rocks, here. Particularly the biggest one. I sorta went David Hensel style... for one rock. :P And that one rock is one of my favorite parts. The boulder that's lodged in the side of the rock. It actually wasn't that hard, either.

Quoting Graeme Straughn
Yo!! No offense to the other guys but... I think the final battle for the contest is gonna between you and me. :) EVERYONE that entered were great builders but we just happened to be the best. You and I will (hopefully) meet again in the final round. :) Thanks for the comment about my comment. Oh yea! My email is "Graeme.straughn@gmail.com". Feel free to email me if you want to. :)

Was this necessary? Anyway... Oh. You never know. Life's full of surprises. Everyone who entered were awesome builders. But, if we do meet again... brace yourself. :P

I like it

Graeme Straughn

July 11, 2014

Yo!! No offense to the other guys but... I think the final battle for the contest is gonna between you and me. :) EVERYONE that entered were great builders but we just happened to be the best. You and I will (hopefully) meet again in the final round. :) Thanks for the comment about my comment. Oh yea! My email is "Graeme.straughn@gmail.com". Feel free to email me if you want to. :)

Ha. So am I! :P Well Graeme, it was an honor to be matched with you. Congrats on a fabulous entry and I hope to see more cool builds from you in the future! Hope to see you next year (if their is a second :P) :D
I've seen longer comments. :P Thanks! Boring minifigures?! I love the LOTR 'figs! Can't believe you. ;) Yeah, it's a volcano. More cheese... something to think about. Thanks!

I like it

Graeme Straughn

July 10, 2014

Nice work! Glad ONE of us made it. :P Sad to see you win but happy that of all people, I got to face off hte infamous "Professor B"!! :D Great entry, though I'm bummed I didn't even get one vote. :
Okay get ready for a long comment about you build. PROS - LOVE the rock work! I mean it looks great! Amazing textures and stuff... Cool posing too with those boring minifigs. :) CONS - I'd say it could use a bit of Lava. I mean even if there wasn't a ton of it around... Let's face it. It's a volcano!! Lava's always s pouring down the side. I think a bit of orange chesses could have been sprinkled around a bit just for a “Mount Doom feel”. :D Great overall work! 5/5 AND congrats on moving on. :)

Really cool. Love all the rock work. I also appreciate a little behind the scenes look on the rockwork. I'm new to that aspect of building, so seeing how other folks are doing it is very helpful. Nice work!

Great work I really like this its fantastic theres a few things i'm not fond of but your is to good to not give you my vote

I like it

Graeme Straughn

July 7, 2014

Nooo!!! You have one vote so far. :|

I like it

Red Son

July 7, 2014

All I can say is: WOW. That is spectacular! I love the brickwork you incorporated! I do think that there needs to be more lava and more texture with the stairs. But, you have my vote. Good luck with the others.

Quoting Red Son
All I can say is: WOW. That is spectacular! I love the brickwork you incorporated! I do think that there needs to be more lava and more texture with the stairs. But, you have my vote. Good luck with the others.

Thank you good sir! I do agree with the stairs. But with the lava... Well. In this particular scene there is no lava, just a few smoldering rocks. Anyway. Thanks for the vote!

Quoting Graeme Straughn
: Crap. That's wayyy too good. :O Wow. Great rocks!! Yea. You're soo right! My strenghtns are in SMALL not BIG. (Even though I put "small" in all caps. XD) LOVE the stair idea... I was going to try that but I realized I'm really bad at stairs. I think you're gonna move on but I have yet to post my entry. Good luck man! May the best dwar-- I mean builder win! :P

Thanks man! Keep working at stairs. They're really worth it, and they're not too hard, once you've got the hang of it. :D Life's full of surprises. You could move on. :D I'm excited to see your entry! Good luck! Haha. :P

: Crap. That's wayyy too good. :O Wow. Great rocks!! Yea. You're soo right! My strenghtns are in SMALL not BIG. (Even though I put "small" in all caps. XD) LOVE the stair idea... I was going to try that but I realized I'm really bad at stairs. I think you're gonna move on but I have yet to post my entry. Good luck man! May the best dwar-- I mean builder win! :P

Quoting Sean-Thomas Mahoney
Great work. The rock work is fantastic Graeme going to have a hard time beating this, I'm not fond of the SNOT and black background though

Not fond of the SNOT and black background? Huh. I'd have to disagree with you on that. I thought the black background worked perfectly for a dark and evil place such as Mount Doom. And the SNOT.... Are you meaning the steps or the rocks? If it's the stairs... maybe. They still turned out great (in my mind). But if it's the rocks.... no way. SNOT is the best way to go for rocks. :D

Quoting clayton Marchetti
The picture of Gollum looking down at the two Hobbits fighting is masterful

Thanks! Yeah, that picture's probably my favorite of the lot. :D

Quoting Asad .
I just think that the path shouldnt be as smooth. Maybe having a few studs here and there?

Well. I did that... sorta. :P But, yeah. Less smooth. Got it! Thanks!

Quoting Nathan Pownwell
I feel sorry for Graeme going up against this... :O Good work! This is probably going to get MOTD sometime... :) (Please don't title me as a prophet, I was just guessing. :{P )

Thank you, Nathan the prophet (Whoa, it even works!)! A MOTD? That would be awesome. But it most likely won't become really popular.

Quoting The Dunedain98
But I feel like SNOT was not the way to go where Frodo and Sam are, and in some places the rocks look a little messy, but then again, it might just be me :P

Really? I thought it looked pretty good. But I see what you mean. I knew that I wouldn't have enough plates and tiles to do all the stairs as soon as I started. So... yeah. :P Do the rocks look messy? Huh. I'll have to work on that then. Thanks!

Very ambitious! Graeme is definitely a tough opponent, good luck against him! You have lots of rocks, and they are very cool! But I feel like SNOT was not the way to go where Frodo and Sam are, and in some places the rocks look a little messy, but then again, it might just be me :P

Phenomenal rock work! I love how it overlaps at odd angles. It definitely has a natural look to it. Great scene too. The picture of Gollum looking down at the two Hobbits fighting is masterful. Excellent entry!

Whoa, that's weird. Musta deleted a number. :P Thanks! Oh, and in answer to your other comment. Maybe. But that's what happens when you do panel rocks. But I get what your saying. Eh, it still looks cool. :P